University of Stirling researchers win RSE awards

Three University of Stirling staff are among the recipients of the autumn 2025 RSE Research Awards, announced today by the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE).

Dr David Fleming, of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, and Dr Clare Bird, of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, have received small grants, while postdoctoral research fellow Dr Marly Samuel, of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, has been funded for an international joint project with the University of Malawi.

Dr David Fleming has received a grant for a short-term residency at the University of Lisbon that is connected to a Film and Death project funded by the European Research Council. The project will enable the production of a practice-based film-philosophy work on the theme of Philosophers’ Afterlives on Film, as well as a Special Issue of the leading videographic journal [in]Transition.

Dr Fleming said: “This research explores how global screen media shape our understanding of philosophical legacies and the afterlives of important thinkers. By combining creative practice with critical inquiry, the project advances film-philosophy as a mode of research and opens new ways of engaging with questions of death, memory, and mediation.”

Inclusive and sustainable

Dr Clare Bird has received funding for a study of how the rare marine species Globorotaloides hexagonus, which thrives in low-oxygen waters, can be used as a proxy in the oxygen minimum zone off the coast of South America. 

Dr Bird said: “Ocean deoxygenation is one of the most pressing consequences of climate change but direct oxygen measurements in the ocean span only the past few decades and are spatially limited, so robust geological proxies are needed to extend this record. There is a multi-billion dollar fishery off the coast of South America supporting local and global economies, which is what makes our study of the proxy development of G. hexagonus in this region so significant.”

Dr Marly Samuel was funded for an International Joint Project (Stream 1), along with collaborator Dr Elita Chamdimba of the University of Malawi, for a study working with young people to help share local perspectives and lived experiences of people in Lake Chilwa in southern Malawi, through participatory and digital learning.

Dr Samuel said: “This research amplifies the voices of Malawian lakeshore communities by bringing forward significant local and indigenous realities, stories, and perspectives that are rarely heard but are deeply important. The project will help shape more inclusive and sustainable approaches for lake management and livelihoods.”

Breadth, importance and innovation

In total, more than £856,000 was given in funding by the RSE to 92 projects across 17 Scottish universities and research institutes.

Professor Alistair Jump, Deputy Principal (Research) at the University of Stirling, said: “We are proud to see Stirling colleagues represented strongly in the latest RSE awards and congratulate each of them on their funding success. These awards are a testament to the breadth, importance and innovation of our research. Many thanks to RSE for their support of our research that makes an impact.”

RSE Vice President, Research, Professor Anne Anderson OBE FRSE, said: “The RSE’s Research Awards Programme plays a crucial role in supporting and strengthening Scotland’s vibrant research community. I am confident that the recipients of these prestigious RSE awards will advance knowledge and deliver meaningful benefits for Scottish society. On behalf of the Society, I warmly congratulate these outstanding researchers and their international partners, and I look forward to seeing the impact of their work.”

Find out more about the autumn 2026 awards.